Instead of showing a shred of sympathy, Allie rolls her eyes. “You’re not going to say your mother is sick, are you? Because I know she’s dead.”
She does?
“Anyway, I don’t care what your reason is.” She turns her back to me. “I don’t care where you’ve gone. I don’t care that you’re back. I don’t want to work with you anymore.”
So this is like the start, when she was insisting on working alone. This is what I get for leaving her, for thinking I was done with her and for making her think it. I guess I have to start over.
“Are you sure this isn’t just the alcohol talking?” I ask her.
“The alcohol and I are basically one right now,” Allie answers without glancing back. “So yeah, you can take it as gospel truth.”
Back to being stubborn. What did I do to counter that last time?
“You’re not going to shake me off,” I tell her. “Surely you already know that. You tried, remember?”
“I didn’t fail. I just made the mistake of letting you in. I’m not going to make that same mistake again.”
“You let me in because I helped you out. I’ve been helping you out.”
“If you’re saying I owe you something, stop it,” she says, still without looking at me. “The slate was wiped clean when you left.”
It all comes back to that, doesn’t it? Me leaving?
I guess I’ll just have to make her forget about it.
I climb on the bed and lie next to her. I was thinking I’d seduce her, make her realize she still wants me, that she can’t be without me. As soon as I look into her eyes, though, I see the pain there and my plan evaporates.
“I’m sorry,” I tell her sincerely. “I shouldn’t have done that.”
She closes her eyes and snorts. “You bet.”
She tries to turn the other way but I grab her arm.
“I’ll make it up to you.” The words tumble out of my mouth. “Just tell me what I have to do.”
Allie says nothing. She just stares into my eyes. I can tell she’s considering my words.
I place my hand on her cheek. “Tell me.”
“Don’t ever disappear again without telling me,” Allie says. “If you have to go, tell me first. Tell me why. If you’re going for good, say goodbye.”
I think I can do that.
“And tell me about your family. How you grew up. I want to know everything about you.”
Well, I can’t tell her everything, but I can tell her about my family.
“Alright.”
“Promise?” she asks me.
“Promise.”
The corners of Allie’s lips turn up into a smile. The gleam returns to her blue eyes. It feels like sunlight after a long, cold night.
“That’s all?” I ask her as I stroke her cheek. “So everything’s good?”
Her eyebrows furrow. “Actually, there’s one more thing.”
“What?”
Allie pushes me back and climbs on top of me. Her gaze pins me down as she puts her hands on my chest.
“I get to do whatever I want to you so I can drive you crazy the way you’ve been driving me crazy,” she says.
The look in her eyes tells me she has every intention of doing just that. The combination of lust, mischief and determination makes me swallow.
“Okay.”
She cups my face and pushes her tongue past my lips. I taste her toothpaste.
Her hands move to my hair as her tongue swirls inside my mouth. I place my arms around her and move my own tongue against hers. Just because I’m letting her do what she wants doesn’t mean I’m just going to lie still.
The friction starts a fire burning through my veins. As much as I hate to admit it, in the past few days I’ve been gone, I’ve missed kissing her.
Allie moans into my mouth and the sound vibrates all the way to my crotch. My cock throbs in my boxers.
She pulls her mouth away and plants it on my ear. Her tongue tickles so I give a strained gasp. After she licks the lobe, she drags her lips to my neck. She places a firm kiss there, then sucks on my skin. My pulse accelerates. My cock starts to swell.
Allie straightens up. She grips my shoulders and starts to move her hips. Her weight grinds down on the bulge starting to form in my pants and I purse my lips as my cock gets harder. We’re still both fully clothed, but I can feel her heat. It fuels my desire.
I get the urge to push her off me and bury my cock between her legs then and there, but I simply put my hands on her arms and give her a frown.
“No fair.”
Allie chuckles. “Impatient already? I’m only getting started, though.”
To prove her point, she takes off the jacket I’m still wearing and then my shirt. Both get tossed to the floor. She plants kisses on my chest and drags her lips sloppily along the lines of my abdomen. I suck in a breath.